title: Forsen psychological risk inventory for breast cancer patients: a prospective case-control study with special reference to the use of psychiatric medications.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  In 1989, Forsen introduced an inventory for psychological identification of breast cancer (BC) patients before biopsy. The associations between the Forsen inventory (FI) and the risk of BC are rarely considered together in a prospective study.
  
  
  METHODS
  In an extension of the Kuopio Breast Cancer Study, 115 women with breast symptoms were semi-structurally interviewed in-depth and asked to complete standardised questionnaires (Beck, Forsen and Spielberger) and all study variables were obtained before any diagnostic procedures were carried out. The Montgomery-Åsberg depression rating scale (MADRS) was used to evaluate the depression of the study participants.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The clinical examination and biopsy showed BC in 34 patients, benign breast disease (BBD) in 53 patients and 28 individuals were shown to be healthy (HSS). The BC group had more severe anxiety during a two-year prodromal period (4/34 patients, 11.8%) than the BBD (3/53 patients, 5.7%) and HSS groups (1/28 patients, 3.6%). The mean sum of the scores of the FI variables during a six-year prodromal period were significantly lower in the BC group (9.8) than in the BBD (11.8) and HSS groups (12.5). In addition, the women in the BC group tended to use more psychiatric medication during a six-year prodromal period (7/34 patients, 20.6%) than the patients in the BBD (7/53, 13.2%) and HSS groups (3/28, 10.7%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results of this study support a very weak association between the FI and BC risk. However, the number of cases with psychiatric medications was insufficient to support statistically a specific link between psychiatric medications and increased BC risk.
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine and Surgery, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland. matti.eskelinen@kuh.fi
authors.forename: Matti
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Eskelinen
authors.forename: Paula
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ollonen
mesh_terms: D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007406:Interview, Psychological; D008875:Middle Aged; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000379:methods*; D012307:Risk Factors